Stories about nuclear weapons

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Whether the North Korean nuclear test was that of a Hydrogen bomb or was ‘just’ a conventional nuclear test is not the main issue. The fact is that nuclear tests that pose a significant danger to the world have been made. South Korea registered seismic tremors of 5.1 on the Richter scale. That information enough should have us worried.
Neither South Korea nor China – as almost the only allies of North Korea in the world – were informed about this beforehand. Both the nations are visibly shocked.
China, which has a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), fully agreed ...

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The madness continues, with India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy claiming that India will break Pakistan into four pieces if a war breaks out between the two nuclear-armed countries, while admitting India’s role in splitting Pakistan in 1971.
It is difficult to take Swamy seriously. He is the same man who suggested that religious freedom in an otherwise diverse India be curtailed to meet the demands of Hindu nationalism in various shapes and forms. From suggesting that voting rights only be handed out to Muslims who accept that they have Hindu ancestry, to proposing a law that prohibits conversion from Hinduism to any other ...

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The Line of Control (LoC) which divides Pakistan and Indian-occupied Kashmir has been the primary source of troublesome relations between the two countries. Not being an international border, LoC is a De Facto border agreed upon by India and Pakistan and was previously known as the cease-fire line.
The security situation across this region has escalated throughout the years, as India blames Pakistan for exporting terror across the LoC. This has been the case whenever an attack has been carried out in India, or for that fact, in Pakistan as well. An important point to highlight would be that two out of three wars ...

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August 6, 1945 started as a normal Monday morning in the bustling city of Hiroshima, with people going about their daily activities as per usual. Just as the clock struck quarter past eight, all activity was brought to an abrupt end at the behest of the Enola Gay. A giant mushroom cloud dwarfed the city of Hiroshima, and swept it clean of life with an immense shock of energy.
Almost 68 years after this tragic yet inevitable scene of death, destruction and devastation, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf demonstrated his chronic condition of dementia by once again bullying India.
“We have not made the atomic ...

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After 13 years of struggling and negotiating, a deal has finally been concluded between Iran and the West that rightfully is called ‘historical’.
The main bone of contention has been the Western fear that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons, which could destroy Israel and change the balance of power in the Middle East. Though the newly concluded long-term agreement is supposed to prevent this, Israel and Saudi Arabia, a newly found friend of Israel, have been first to condemn this agreement before the ink on agreement was dry.
Despite the fact that Iran always insisted that it was developing nuclear facilities for peaceful energy production only and ...

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Once again, democracy is open for renovation, and frosty relations are back on track after prolonged negotiations. Earlier, only Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatories and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) were allowed to carry out nuclear trade. As a student of nuclear and strategic studies, I feel India has been able to strike a nuclear deal without abiding by the rules set out for other countries by the international non-proliferation regime.
While democracy remains but a show, and power but a spectacle for the people to behold but not wield, this nation will remain handcuffed by favouritism. The Harrods sale of ...

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The romantic flame between Washington and Tehran, which had reignited last year in the form of the historic phone call between US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has been dampened.
The tentative deal between the US and Iran, limiting Iran’s nuclear program for around a decade before easing up on restrictions has raised strong opposition from Israel.
On invitation of a Republican congressman, which was condemned by the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his way to Washington. The stage was set, the world was watching, and Netanyahu was going to put up a good show for the hottest ticket in town.
Netanyahu, who ...

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Obama is finally in India for his second official visit since he commenced his second term in the office. The visit is important for various reasons.
First and foremost, due to its powerful symbolism: Obama is the first US president visiting India, twice.
Secondly, an American president’s presence at the Republic Day of the world’s largest democracy also sends a very powerful message.
But there are some serious questions occupying the minds of those in India and Pakistan. Will the visit prove to be just a theatrical trip of smiles and handshakes or can India really get something out of the guest who is left with just two years ...

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William Dalrymple, a British Historian, addressed the complexities of Indo-Pak proxy conflict quite effectively in his essay, A Deadly Triangle: Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. He discussed how their armies are caught up in an inevitable local and regional war shaped by both pre-existing and overlapping conflicts. And both regional powers, India and Pakistan, armed with nuclear weapons, pose an increased threat to regional peace and security of South Asia.
Several US diplomats, the likes of Tom Pickering, James Dobbins and Bruce Riedel, have adverted upon hidden proxy games that Pakistan and India have been playing for a long time. Security analysts and army generals ...

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United States strategic shift to the Asia Pacific from the Middle East thanks to President Barack Obama’s Asia Pivot has certainly changed the entire Middle Eastern geopolitical calculus.
We are now witnessing a time period when, for the first time in history, the United States is on the verge of becoming energy sufficient as it surpassed Saudi Arabia in oil production in October, 2013. This happened while the wrapping up of military campaigns in the greater Middle East is translating into reduced military spending ergo, reduced military might in the said region.
These two events are significant as they are a contributing factor in the reshaping of the US ...